As the new National League season gets set for its big kick-off on Saturday, Chester FC boss Jon McCarthy believes the club are ‘streets ahead’ of where they were 12 months ago.

Chester begin their campaign at Solihull Moors on Saturday (3pm) buoyed by a strong pre-season and a fine team performance in their final friendly with Port Vale at the weekend, a 1-1 draw .

Eight new signings have arrived during the summer to restore plenty of positivity among fans after the spectacular slide down the table last season that saw them drop from seventh in December to finish 19th in April, two points above the drop zone.

The sale of highly rated Sam Hughes to Premier League side Leicester City has meant that McCarthy has been able to add more quality to his squad, although the Blues budget still remains one of the smallest in the division.

But with the added quality and leadership that has been brought in having been followed by an early start to pre-season and a bold, innovative approach to training, McCarthy believes that the club are in a very different place heading into this season than was the case a year ago.

“We’re in such a better position than this time last year – streets ahead,” said McCarthy.

“I’ve had full control this time around and I’ve been able to plan and implement things well in advance. I’ve been backed by the board and Mark Maguire [chief executive] and they have backed me and my management team with what we have done.

“The way the financial side of things has been handled has meant that this has been possible. If we would have stayed the same as we were last year then I dread to think how hard this season would be for us.”

With signings such as Andy Halls, Kingsley James, Ross Hannah and Paul Turnbull, Chester have pursued quality over quantity during the summer, a move that means that they are light heading into the new campaign.

Burnley under-21 keeper Conor Mitchell looks set to arrive in the near future on loan to challenge Alex Lynch, although no deal has yet been concluded.

And in an ideal world McCarthy would like two more defenders but says he is comfortable with how things stand, although he does hold out some hope of adding defensive cover via a loanee should the need arise.

“We’ve been bold and brave with what we have tried to do,” said the Chester boss.

“We knew we needed to bring in more quality and we have done that. It does, though, mean that we have a smaller squad than what we would ideally like to have, but that’s a decision we made.

“We could have had eight defenders but the make up of the squad would have looked very different.

“We’re happy with what we have done and the way we have approached things. I may not have a better budget than some other managers in this league but we will be better in every other aspect of how we approach things.

“We’ve done things differently this summer and I think the performance against Port Vale showed people a little glimpse of what we have been doing and what we have been working on.

“We’ll be ready for every game and every battle in this league and we’ve done everything we can to close the gap on the top sides in this league. We’re up for the challenge and we’re all excited to get going.”